Its Beginning to Sound a Lot Like...

Our musical precipitation has Vai, Morse and Wilson of Heart in the forecast.

Autumn and Christmas are the two fave times of the year for special musical programming on the Croude.  Both pass all too fast for me....as quickly as leaves on trees are gone or the first snowflakes sometimes vanishing in our subtropical climate.

This week we have three primary focal points musically.  The new Sharon Isbin disc is rare in a number of ways.  For those not familiar, she is now the reigning female persona on classical guitars.  In the past we've had the virtuosity of NIcola Hall and Liona Boyd--and its sad to think their careers were cut short by hand related problems.  In a recent Guitar Player magazine profile, Isbin details her collaboration with "friends"...who knew they included Steve Morse, Nancy Wilson of Heart, Steve Vai and others you might never suspect? Guitar Passions, her latest disc, explores the marriage of electric virtuosity from the guys--and a new colour to the Heart classic Dreamboat Annie. Its great to see an artist branching out--and Isbin admitting  that onlyh now is she  learning to improvise.

Thats our centerpiece....musical bookends on both sides are equally diverse--and for this upcoming season. 

Its not unusual for people at this time of year to struggle with faith/or loss of it, depression and all that is generated by the so-called holidays.  Strangely enough....Pete Townsend[yes....that Who guy] and Courtney Love have written songs--a generation apart--that fit in with this concept.  I won't give the titles away here--when you do listen, however, you'll be surprised at how astute their insight is regardless of what the commercial media stereotypically attaches to these mega personalities.

Our other musical bookend...local Richmond jazzers not too long ago got together for a watershed disc to support a children's charity. I revisit some of those glowing moments created for the Christmas season and recorded in one of the best studios in town. These are seasonal gems from artists who call our capital region home.  And one of my all time fave Christmas discs.

The Electric Croude airs late Saturday at midnight EST only on WCVE Public Radio.  Coming up on December 25, the airing of the 27th Christmas Croude program--featuring the best of eclectica not heard elsewhere in the country!